"In purposefully limiting players' relationship options, Nintendo is not only sending a hurtful message to many of its fans and consumers by excluding them, but also setting itself way behind the times," a spokesperson told Venture Beat.

"It's been over a decade since The Sims - the original 'whimsical and quirky' life simulator - allowed its users to marry any character they wanted, and many other mainstream and massively popular video games have followed their lead since."

It added: "Nintendo should do the same."

It follows the online #Miiquality campaign, which has since appeared on mainstream media outlets such as BBC News, calling for Nintendo to instate same-sex relationships in the Western versions of the game.

Tomodachi Life will be available from June 6 on Nintendo 3DS in Europe and North America.